Fo Tan (Chinese: 火炭; Cantonese Yale: Fótaan) is an area of Sha Tin District, New Territories, Hong Kong. It was developed as a light industrial area, but this activity has declined markedly in recent years. There are residential areas to the east, alongside the MTR line, and in the foothills to the west.
| Fo Tan | |||||||||||||
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 View of Fo Tan | |||||||||||||
| Chinese | 火炭 | ||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | fire charcoal | ||||||||||||
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Etymology
editFo Tan is located around a river, the Fo Tan Nullah. Historically, a beach was revealed when the water receded. The area thus became known as "river beach" (Chinese: 河灘). In Hakka, this was pronounced "Fo Tan". It was later mistakenly called "Fire Beach" (Chinese: 火灘) due to similarities in pronunciation. This has further changed into "Fire Charcoal" (Chinese: 火炭) which is in current use, again due to similarities in pronunciation.
Location
editNorth East South West To the south is Sha Tin New Town, with the small community of Wo Che in between. To the north is Kau To and the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). Nearby to the east is Sha Tin Racecourse while across the Shing Mun River is City One Shatin.
Artistic community
editSince 2001, as most industrial businesses have closed and moved to mainland China, more than 70 units in the utilitarian industrial blocks have reopened as artists' studios, creating a vibrant if well hidden local arts scene. Every January, a festival, Fotanian - Open Studio Programme, sees many of the studios open to the public. Guided walks lead visitors to these normally private working studios, which encompass a wide range of media and styles such as ceramic and floral design.[1] [2] Fo Tan was chosen for artist spaces because the ceilings of the buildings are high and because it is in the middle of the New Territories.[3]
Housing
editPublic housing estates
editPrivate housing estates
editPrivate housing estates in Fo Tan include:
Villages
editThere are originally 24 Hakka villages. Villages in Fo Tan include:
Economy
editA.S. Watson Group has its head office in the Watson House (Chinese: 屈臣氏中心) in Fo Tan.[4][5]
Education
editFo Tan is in Primary One Admission (POA) School Net 91. Within the school net are multiple aided schools (operated independently but funded with government money); no government schools are in this net.[6]
Schools in Fo Tan:
Transportation
edit- Fo Tan station on the East Rail line
- Buses and minibuses
- taxis
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Fotan art district grows in Hong Kong’s industrial area - Art Radar Asia
- ^ Fotan Florist - Bloom November
- ^ Batten, John (2013-07-11). "Creative forces: Kitty Ko's artwork is motivated by everyday things". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2019-04-18.
- ^ "Contact Us Archived 2012-09-10 at the Wayback Machine." A.S. Watson Group. Retrieved on 25 October 2012. "Watson House, 1-5 Wo Liu Hang Road, Fo Tan, Shatin, N.T., Hong Kong"
- ^ "聯絡我們 Archived 2012-09-10 at the Wayback Machine." A.S. Watson Group. Retrieved on 25 October 2012. "香港新界火炭禾寮坑路1-5 號屈臣氏中心"
- ^ "POA School Net 91" (PDF). Education Bureau. Retrieved 2022-10-09.